COMMUNITY HEALTH CORNER With Chief Pharmacist, Lauren Kaldun at Thrifty White Pharmacy, 321 North Jefferson in Wadena. May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month High blood pressure is sometimes called the "silent killer as there are usually no symptoms. Understanding your blood pressure numbers is the key to controlling it. What is high blood pressure? Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls. Each time the heart beats, it is pumping blood into these arteries. This results in the highest blood pressure when the heart contracts and is pumping the blood. High blood pressure, or ypertension, directly increases the risk of coronary heart disease (heart attack) and stroke (brain attack). With high blood pressure, the arteries may have an increased resistance against the flow of blood, causing the heart to pump harder to circulate the blood. Two numbers are used to measure blood pressure. The number on the top, the systolic pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when the heart contracts and is pumping the blood through the body. The number on the bottom, the diastolic pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when the heart is at rest and is filling with blood. Both the systolic and diastolic pressures are recorded as "mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) Blood pressure is categorized as normal, elevated or stage 1 or stage 2 high blood pressure BLOOD PRESSURE CATEGORY SYSTOLIC mm Hg DIASTOLIC mm Hg Less than 120 120-129 130-139 Normal Less than 80 Less than 80 80-39 and and High Bloed Pressure High Blood Pressure 140 or Higher 90 or higher Higher than 180 Hypertensive Crisis Consult your doctor immediately) Higher than 120 What are the symptoms of high blood pressure? Often, people with high blood pressure do not have noticeable symptoms. If the blood pressure is greatly elevated, a person may experience the following: Headache, Dizziness, Blurred vision. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently The symptoms of high blood pressure may resemble other medical conditions or problems. Always talk with your healthcare provider for a diagnosis. Free blood pressure checks at your local Thrifty White Pharmacy! O Employee Owned 321 North Jefferson Wadena, MN 218-631-4050 PHARMACY Store Hours: Mon-Fri: 8:30am - 7pm Sat.: 9am -3pm . Sun.: 9am 3pm BUY ONUNE linurww.oninednugstore.com